**forbidden the eating of food offered to images**
This was an Old Testament rule, wasn’t it?
The question had been raised in the Early Church what to do with the new gentile believers who were not of the circumcision, (should they circumcised?...what of the jewish laws should they be made to follow?). There was a great storm of controversey as a certain “judaizer” sect arose that argued that the new Gentile believers should be circumcised and be made to follow Jewish customs. It was argued most strongly that the Gentile believers were saved under the laws of Christ’s grace and not be subject to the old Mosaic laws that the Jews themselves could not in reality keep!
The Gentiles were told to avoid fornication and avoid idol worship and food served with its blood....”If ye do that, ye shall do well!” They were told. (Paul in a later epistles argued against the consumption of food offered up to idols as well especially if it made weaker members of the faith to stumble in the manner of idol worship). Otherwise the Gentiles were to follow all the tenents of Christ and teachings of the apostles that Christ had delivered to them. All things were lawful but not all things were expediate they were cautioned and in truth a follower of Christ in terms of behavior and orientation to the world would not be that much different to that of observat Jews.
The only real written compendium of scriptures were the old testament but newly explained via the laws’ fullfillment in the person of Jesus Christ and the witness of the Holy Spirit in the new believers’ hearts. God had promised that in the latter days he would write his laws not on tablets of stone but hearts of flesh via the outpouring of his spirit on all flesh.